Warning! BPA Linked to Early Puberty in Girls–New Study

Just when you thought you’d get a break from learning how incredibly awful BPA is, a new study comes out that has every mom of young girls concerned…and for good reason. According to a new study, BPA linked to early puberty in girls has been published. To get more specific, BPA has been linked to a condition called idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) in young girls. ICPP is also referred to as “precocious puberty” where girls develop breasts and grow pubic hair before the age of 8 years old. Becoming a woman before you are emotionally ready has it’s toll on social development as well. Girls who get their period earlier are more likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems than their peers. BPA is a well known and very common hormone disrupting chemical meaning it has the ability to disrupt the hormonal system and cause problems with behavior, reproduction, metabolism, etc. And when your daughter is developing her hormones early, complications in life can be on the horizon.

Puberty is a process launched when the pituitary gland releases hormones that signal the body to amp up production of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone (in girls) or testosterone (in boys), triggering the development of secondary sexual characteristics. In girls, puberty typically begins with breast development between ages 8 and 13 and ends with menarche, or the first period…”Precocious puberty” occurs when puberty begins at earlier ages — yet the mental health risks associated with early puberty aren’t exclusive to kids experiencing puberty before their eighth birthday. Rather, mental health problems are more likely to crop up when a child is developing normally, but is among the first in his or her peer group to begin the process.

So the bitchy bisphenols have struck again…

BPA Linked to Early Puberty in Girls–The Bitchy Bisphenols Strike Again

Those bitchy bisphenols, the mean girls of the chemical world, are at it again. BPA, which belongs to a chemical class known as bisphenols, hence the “bitchy bisphenols”, has been linked to all sorts of ailments you would much rather avoid such as obesity, infertility, behavioral issues in children, and early puberty. What a headache, right? Can we just say now that those bitchy bisphenols are more dangerous than they are useful? Cause that’s what I’m thinking. We don’t need bisphenols around our children or pre-teens. These mean girls of the chemical would much rather push your daughter down the stairs than actually help her.

It’s important to remember that it’s not just BPA that is the problem. This entire chemical class referred to as “bisphenols” are problematic. So when you see plastic containers marketing themselves as “BPA-Free” be cautious because they may have replaced the BPA with another sister like BPS or BPAF. Both of them are bitches and they are from the same family. So when you think of BPA remember that she has sisters and none of those sisters are nice. And some of them may be worse than BPA herself.

Confused. Don’t be. Just remember the BPA has sisters so you want to avoid the entire family.

The Study: BPA Is Linked to Percocious Puberty

The study was conducted in Shanghai, China using 136 school aged girls between the ages of 6 to 9 years old. Urine analysis was done on each girl to assess levels of BPA concentrations within their body. Laboratory examinations were also conducted looking into relevant physical and hormonal imbalances such as:

serum estradiol (E2) levels

basal and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) levels

stimulated luteinizing hormone (LH) levels

follicile-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels

bone ages (BA)

uterine & ovarian sizes

The results were very concerning. The highest concentrations of BPA had a 9.08-fold increased risk of ICPP, meaning BPA has a strong link to precocious puberty. Lovely. And this study is not the only one finding a link between bisphenols and early puberty. Here’s another study done in 2014 and another one in 2016. In other words, bisphenols suuuuuuuck.

How to Avoid Bisphenols

Avoiding bisphenols can be complicated but very worth the effort when you are pregnant or have young girls at home. Bisphenols can be found in three basic areas: thermal receipt paper, plastic food & beverage containers, & canned food lining. Here’s the trifecta of how to avoid the Bisphenols.

Stop touching thermal receipt paper. Signing without touching them is complicated, but can be done if you place your covered arm on them then scribble.

Thermal Receipt Paper is Contaminated with Bisphenols

The most efficient delivery method of BPA is touching thermal receipt paper. I find it infuriating that one of our passions as women is actually causing us harm–shopping. So pay close attention to what those receipts look like. If it’s shiny chances are the paper has been coated with biphenols and touching the paper (especially after you put some alcohol-based sanitizer gel on your hands) allows the bisphenols to enter your system through dermal contact. This is more problematic to women than men because women have thinner skin and are more likely to get BPA in their system from dermal contact. You can use mobile apps instead that take pictures of your receipts OR you can just not take that receipt. If you are lucky enough to be shopping at a place where they email you the receipt…amazing!

Plastic Re-usable Bottles Can Be Contaminated with Bisphenols

Drinking water from reusable plastic water bottles can also be problematic. I know it’s trendy now to see “BPA Free” on everything. But lots of these companies have just reformulated to BPS, which you know is the other bitchy sister. Another plastic I’m cautious of is “Tritan” because honestly, there isn’t a ton of info out there to give me confidence that it’s safe…regardless of what they tell us. I would suggest avoiding ANYTHING that is plastic. But if you want to find which plastic containers are contaminated with bisphenols, look for that plastic recycled number. The bisphenol family hides under #7 plastic.

When it comes to plastic containers for your food, the same rules apply. And NEVER microwave anything in plastic. Yes, even when it says “microwave safe” on the container. (Microwave safe my ass.) Leaching happens when you add heat (sometimes room temperature), fat or citric acid to the mix. They aren’t promising you that container won’t leach…they are telling you it won’t blow up in the microwave. Different problem.

Canned Food is Likely Contaminated with Bisphenols

All canned foods have linings in them that stop rust from forming. Most of the time, the linings of canned foods are some sort of bisphenol. This includes organic food cans, unfortunately. Click here if you would like to learn more about which canned brands line their products with bisphenols. Companies like Campbell’s are looking into alternatives but haven’t found a solution yet that isn’t tied to hormone disruption. So keep your fingers crossed on that one and in the meantime, look for glass, stainless steel or tetrapak alternatives.

Conclusion: Stop Inviting the Bisphenols to the Party

If you are looking for products that don’t contain bisphenols, visit our shopping portal where you can search by category for non-toxic products. Solving this problem means us all getting together and deciding not to invite the Bisphenols to the party. I know that sounds mean, but really, all they do is make fun of our daughters, act like they own the place and then leave a mess. We don’t really need that, do we? So instead of allowing the bitchy Bisphenols over, let’s send a message to companies that are bringing them over and just stop buying their products. If we stop purchasing from companies that are contaminating their product with bisphenols, they will start creating products that are better.